How I Met Your Career
by reader13lovesbooks
Summary: The many ways and many universes in which Ember Abernathy and Cato Wolfwood could have met. (Ex. No Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Roman Empire...) Based on my other fic The Sweetest Mockery. Inspired by readers' ideas.
1. No Hunger Games

**It's been one year since I revived my main Hunger Games fic, The Sweetest Mockery! As a little celebration, I'll be posting these writing snippets that I've been working on in a bid to alleviate my writer's block for TSM. Please see the ending AN for more information about how readers can suggest prompts for these AU Ember-and-Cato-meet-for-the-first-time scenes. :)**

* * *

 **No Hunger Games**

It's a perfect June afternoon, and the children of District 12 have no cares in the world. School's out for the summer, so everyone is either working a part-time job, lazing around at home, or, if they're particularly ambitious, interning in other districts or even the Capitol. Ember Abernathy _should_ be among the last group. Her father is a senator, an unbelievable accomplishment for someone from the Districts. Her mother, now a well-known writer, once interned in the president's office (although that, according to Maysilee Donner, was a nightmare of an experience). Her brother and Finnick God's-Gift-to-Humans Odair are running a talk show that's rivaling Caesar Flickerman's, and her sister is some kind of a big deal in the Capitol's art world.

Ember, on the other hand, is content to spend her summers with her friends, picking wild strawberries, swimming in the lake, and occasionally manning the register at the family candy shop.

On this particular day, Ember is behind the counter in the store. It's the usual cashier's day off, and Mom is busy running errands. The Abernathys really don't need the candy shop as a source of income, considering how much Mom gets for her books and Dad from his posh government job, but the place has been in Mom's family for so long that no one has the heart to sell it.

Ember has her nose stuck in a book. The bell above the door chimes, and she calls out a greeting, absorbed in her novel. From her periphery, she barely notes that the patron is very tall—clearly not one of the sticky-fingered children in the neighborhood, so she can probably trust him not to steal their merchandise.

"Good book?"

"It's heart-breaking. I love it." Ember lowers the novel. "Is that every…" She forgets to finish her question.

District 12 is plenty small enough that everyone knows everyone in her age group. And _that_ means there is a general consensus among the girls which boys are the best-looking (Gale Hawthorne, the Mellark boy, and apparently Ember's older brother, although she disagrees). This guy, in her opinion, blows them all out of the park.

The blond is waiting for her to finish. Ember quickly clears her throat. "Is that everything?" Only then does she look down at his selection. _Geeze._ He's plunked down about half their inventory on the counter. "You sure you don't want the other half of the store as well?"

"Nah, I need to leave something for tomorrow."

Considering how much muscle that boy has, it's probably safe to say that his metabolism will work it all off if he just stands there. Ember begins to ring up his purchases. "I haven't seen you around before."

"Just arrived here today from Two."

"And you came straight to the candy shop? On behalf of my family, I'm flattered."

He shrugs as he plays with a lollipop in the nearby display. "What can I say? I have a sweet tooth, and I don't usually get a chance to indulge it."

"So now you're going all in. Nice. I approve." I raise my eyebrows at the final tally on the register. "Want me to toss in some free fudge?"

"By all means." He points out the flavor he wants, and I cut out a piece.

"So what are you doing here in Twelve? It's not a very touristy place."

"Eh...combination of learning experience and punishment."

"Ooh. Sounds intriguing. Punishment for what?"

Depositing his change into the tip jar and grabbing his bag of purchases, he winks as he turns to go. "Ask me tomorrow." He nods at my nametag. "Ember."

Against my will, my heart flutters. "Do I at least get _your_ name?"

"Cato. I'll see you tomorrow, Ember." A quick flash of a mischievous smile, and then he's gone.

* * *

Effie Trinket on Careers: _But they don't receive any special treatment. In fact, they stay in the exact same apartment you do, and I don't think they let them have dessert, and you can._

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 **As stated above, I would LOVE to have readers suggest ideas for other ways in which Ember and Cato could have met in different universes. The chapters for this fic are going to be short and sweet, probably ranging from this chapter's length to no more than 2K words. The ideas can take place in practically every universe, ex. I have some Harry Potter and Roman Empire-inspired ones in the queue. I only have about a half dozen of these meet-cute scenes written, so I'm going to need some help from you wonderful readers if we're going to keep this fic going. Since the chapters for this story are so short, I'm planning on writing each chapter as I'm inspired (by my own ideas or by readers') and posting them soon after completion.**

 **So if you have an idea for a meeting scene, send it to me in a review! I'll be sure to write anything that makes me feel inspired, and as long as someone is interested in this fic/keeps sending me ideas, I'll keep working on this. I'm hoping this story will tide people over as I struggle with TSM chapters.**

 **Thanks for reading, send ideas, and I always reply to reviews!**


	2. Harry Potter

**Many thanks to Queen-Maggie-pevensie (who also gave me a meeting idea that should be uploaded soon!), Ro-Lee, and my guest reviewer. Happy holidays!**

* * *

 **Harry Potter**

The first Quidditch match of the year is always Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It's Ember Abernathy's first ever game at Hogwarts, and the first year, decked out in crimson and gold, bounces up and down excitedly in the stands as she waits for the match to begin. Her brother Ashton, a seventh year, is the Gryffindor keeper and team captain this year.

"Careful!" Ash's twin Rain pulls Ember back from where she's hanging over the railing. Rain is a Ravenclaw, but when her House isn't playing, she always sits with the Gryffindors to support Ashton.

Ember wriggles out of Rain's grip and presses against the railing again. At that moment, both teams burst into view, soaring onto the Quidditch pitch. The announcer, some second year named Marvel, makes the introductions. "And here comes the Gryffindor captain, Ashton Abernathy! He's a real keeper, that one." The stadium is divided into groans and laughs at his terrible pun.

"Ash!" Ember waves frantically at her brother and is satisfied when, spotting her, he salutes her from his broomstick. "You better win, Ashton!" She's so busy cheering on her brother that she fails to notice when Rain, noticing the arrival of handsome young Professor Crane, guiltily looks around before slinking away to ask him about a recent assignment.

Marvel has almost gone through the gamut of players. "And finally, last and certainly least—I kid, I kid—we have our newest player and Chaser on the Slytherin team this year, Cato Wolfwood!"

A gust of wind suddenly seizes Ember's scarf. She makes a frantic grab for it as it flies away, leaning far, far, far over the railing—and then she falls. The stadium echoes with gasps and several screams as spectators realize someone has fallen.

Ember's fall is cut short when she slams into a warm body. Instinctively, she wraps her arms around it, desperately clinging for support as she is pulled up onto a broomstick. Her woollen hat has slipped over her eyes, and she adjusts it so she can look at the face of second year Slytherin Chaser Cato Wolfwood.

Her chest is still heaving from her panic at falling, and they're both silent as he flies closer to the stands. A very pale Rain, recently returned, helps lift Ember back onto the right side of the railing.

Before Cato leaves, Ember calls out, "Thank you."

He looks back. "You're welcome." He flies away, and after a moment, the game begins.

* * *

 _Professor Seneca Crane teaches the new, highly popular elective Magical Game Theory._

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 **Again, if you have any ideas for how they might have met, send it to me in a review!**


	3. Yu-Gi-Oh

**Many thanks to Ro-Lee and vampluver19 for reviewing!**

 **Guest: I can't remember the last time I read Mortal Instruments, but I recall enough of the basic idea of the series that I might be able to manage a meeting scene based on it...**

* * *

 _For Queen-Maggie-pevensie_

 **Yu-Gi-Oh**

"It's only a children's card game." That's what the Capitol newscasters all insist, tittering, whenever someone raises concerns about the gravity of the Hunger Games. "It's not like anyone _dies_ playing it!"

No indeed, Ember thinks grimly. It only traumatizes its players and keeps them well-supplied with nightmares over twenty years later. Even the players, like her parents, who win. Or maybe especially the winners. After all, it's the winners who stay in the arena the longest, surrounded by mutts and traps and all sorts of horrors.

If there is such a thing as a national card game, then for Panem, that's the Hunger Games. Once, a long time ago, it truly was only a children's game: schoolchildren would have "duels" on the playground and swap the colorful cards, and the monsters only ever existed in ink and cardstock. Then, years ago, Coriolanus Snow came along, purchased the brand, and completely revamped it. His company invented holographic technology that could bring the cards to life—sight, scent, sound, and even touch in certain prototypes.

The popularity of the Hunger Games became astronomical, to the point that adults became addicted to it as well. And one day, when Ember's parents were teenagers, Snow Corporations began to host an annual Hunger Games tournament. Twenty-four children would compete, televised, in an arena to prove who was the best duelist, and the last one standing would gain untold fame and riches.

The problem? The game is too damn _real._

"I thought I died," Maysilee once told Ember. "The Gamemakers like to spice things up when there's a lull and force us players to duel against them. So they activated Birds of Paradise, the monster card with the candy pink birds. Sometimes I can still feel them skewering my neck."

Haymitch has his own horrors to relive. "I was facing my last opponent, a girl from District 1. I was almost out of cards. I played a spell card, Force Field. It reacted with her trap card, and she became stuck in the middle of an inferno. And the thing about playing the Hunger Games in the arena versus outside of it is that in the arena, the Gamemakers can make you see, hear, smell, feel _anything_. To this day I get nauseous at the smell of barbecue."

"What happened to the girl?" Ember remembers her younger self asking her father. "Was she okay?"

"Physically, yes. But last I heard, she's permanently checked herself into a psych ward. Every so often she's convinced that she's being burned alive."

Despite their experiences, Haymitch and Maysilee have taught all their children how to play the Hunger Games. However much Snow bastardized it, they still fondly remembered the more innocent game of their childhoods, and they wanted to share that with Ember and her siblings. Of course, Snow Corporations holographic technology is banned from their house. But not the cards themselves.

Ember loves the game. She loves the strategy, she loves the artwork on the cards, she loves the history behind each card, she loves the thrill of competition. Like her older brother and sister, she's competed in all the local District 12 tournaments, and she recently won the district-wide Hunger Games contest. But she can never rise above that. District 12 is poor enough that it can't afford to frivolously spend money on Snow Corporations' technology, just to make a card game more exciting. But in the bigger tournaments, you can bet that they'll have holograms waiting.

And her parents have forbidden her from going anywhere near games or competitions where they'll have Snow's tech. On one hand, Ember understands their reasoning. Her parents have had their own traumatic experiences with it. And she knows that they deeply regret allowing her older brother, Ashton, to compete in the regional tournament when he was twelve. His victory caught Snow's attention, and somehow, Ashton ended up playing in that year's Hunger Games. Her brother won, but now he has his own demons with which to contend.

Their family tries not to talk about Rain's career choices too much. Ember's sister, Ash's twin, currently works in the R&D department at Snow Corporations.

But that doesn't stop Ember from wanting to prove herself. Yes, it's "only" a children's card game, but she knows she can play at a level beyond any of her competitors in Twelve.

The sand is warm beneath Ember's feet as she trots along the beach. She's visiting Ash, who moved to District 4 a few months ago, to be closer to his friends and to benefit from the restorative sea air. The Hunger Games is much more popular in Four than in Twelve, and Ember has already played several games with strangers in the few days she's been here. Nothing fancy, they just found an empty table or clean patch of ground where they could lay out their cards. Players in Four seem to favor maritime themed cards, which has required her to change her strategy. It's been great fun.

"What? No way, Glimmer, you totally cheated."

Ember's ear perks at the sound of the squabble. She looks over at a quartet huddled around a blanket on the sand, where a game has just concluded. "Sore loser," a blond girl retorts to the boy who accused her. "You can't stand that I always beat you, Marvel."

"You do not always beat me."

"She would've beaten you in the next two rounds anyway," a petite brunette snaps. "Now move, dumb-face. It's me and Cato's turn to play."

Cato?

Ember knows that name. He's a boy from Two who just won the Western Regionals, and he's a shoo-in to qualify for the upcoming Hunger Games. Seized by curiosity, Ember wanders over, just as the next game begins. Cato, she immediately notices, is an extremely attractive boy. Like his friends, he's dressed for the beach, swim trunks and a loose unbuttoned shirt that exposes his entire chest and abdomen. He easily trades barbs with the brunet girl, his opponent, but never loses that intent look of concentration and thought in his eyes. Ember's attention vacillates between the game and that intense expression.

The duel is close, but Cato wins. The girl—Clove—huffs but accepts her loss, a tad less sourly than Marvel did.

"You gonna play or not, Girl on Fire?"

Ember realizes Cato has turned his pale blue eyes toward her. _Girl on Fire?_ Then she remembers that she's wearing a vibrant red, orange, and yellow cover-up that Annie Cresta thought was extremely flattering on her.

"Yeah, come play with us! The more the merrier," Marvel enthuses.

"Do you have a deck?" Glimmer asks.

"Always." Ember's deck rests in its protective case in her cover-up's pocket.

Clove sighs. "Well, come on over. Someone needs to take down Cato's ego a few notches. You think you're that person?"

Ember wanders over to them. "I might be. I'm Ember."

Cato raises his eyebrows. "Abernathy?"

"Er, yes. How'd you know?"

"You won the District 12 tournament. I keep track of these things. And you have a famous family." Cato looks at her searchingly. "Winning your district's tournament would have qualified you to compete in the Eastern Regionals. Why didn't you play?"

Ember definitely isn't about to blab about her familial drama to four strangers. "It's complicated."

"Were you afraid you'd lose?"

Her eyes flash at the blond boy, whose expression would be inscrutable were it not for the flicker of mischief and challenge in his eyes. "More like I was afraid of everyone's hurt feelings and tears when I won," she retorts. She sits down decisively across from him. "I hope your ego's wearing padding, because it's about to fall a long way down."

He smirks, and they clear the board for a new game.

* * *

 _I have a really huge soft spot for Yu-Gi-Oh, in case it wasn't obvious from that incomplete Yu-Gi-Oh fic that's been languishing on my account for the last few years. Queen-Maggie-pevensie gave me the perfect excuse to blend it and Hunger Games together. Thanks for that!_

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 **Again, if you have any ideas for meeting scenes, send them my way in a review!**


	4. Roman Empire

**Many thanks to Ro-Lee and Queen-Maggie-pevensie for reviewing!**

* * *

 **Roman Empire (c. 2nd century A.D.)**

Twelve-year-old Cato Silvius Lupanus follows his older brother through the slave markets of Rome. The stink of unwashed and ill persons clogs his nose. Cato makes a face;Tiberius catches him and shoves the younger boy. "Don't be such a wuss. Soon Father will be sending you here on your own."

A one-legged beggar hobbles over, but one of the family slaves accompanying the brothers turns him away, before the vagrant can even come near the noble boys. Tiberius sneers but says nothing as they continue on their way.

There's a commotion up ahead—some particularly exciting 'stock,' it sounds like. "What's going on over there?" Cato asks.

"Probably just some plebs trying to outbid each other," Tiberius answers, but he also sounds curious. They reach the crowd, and Tiberius taps someone on the shoulder. "Why all the excitement?"

"Slaves from Britannia," the man replies. "Daughters of some rebellious chieftain, so I've heard."

"Oh. I see." Tiberius turns to leave. "Let's go."

"But I want to see what's going on," Cato protests.

"Father sent us here to get strong male slaves for physical work, not some little girls," Tiberius snaps. But when Cato stays put, a stubborn expression on his face, Tiberius groans. "Fine. Alcaeus, stay with the idiot and make sure he doesn't get in trouble. I'll be back soon." Tiberius takes all but one of their family slaves with him, and they disappear into the crowd.

When Cato starts to push through the mob around the podium, Alcaeus tries to stop him. "Young Master, please stay here. I don't want to have to explain to Master Tiberius how I lost you."

"Then come with me." Cato finds a gap between two people and darts forward. Alcaeus reluctantly follows.

He is victorious in his endeavor and makes it to the front, right before the low podium. Perched upon it is a cage, holding two girls with foreign features. Both are fair-skinned, and one, who looks somewhere between Cato and Tiberius's ages, has golden hair and gray eyes, while the other, a little younger than Cato, has inky locks and blue eyes. Despite the difference in coloring, there is a strong resemblance between them. Both are disheveled, filthy, and anxious, the older girl's arms wrapped tightly around the younger.

Suddenly, the older girl jumps up—as much as she can in the cramped cage—and begins to shout. "Seneca! _Seneca!_ " And then a young man is fighting his way toward the slave seller, a scowl upon his face.

Seneca. Cato knows that name. He makes it a point to learn the names of everyone who distinguishes himself militarily. Lucius Seneca Gruanus was an officer in the recent campaign in Britannia, who achieved several key victories. His military career was prepared to take off—but he opted to return to Rome as soon as possible and settle into a private life. Cato notices how Seneca Gruanus and the blond girl apparently know each other, and he wonders if one of Gruanus's military sojourns took him into the territory of her chieftain father.

Cato realizes he's being watched, and he meets the wary gaze of the younger girl in the cage. Despite her evident fear, there is heat in her eyes as they dare him, challenge him. Cato cannot refuse. "What's your name?"

Confusion flickers across her face, and it occurs to him that she probably doesn't know his language. But then she repeats, with a heavy accent, "Name?"

"Yes, name," Cato confirms. Then, to make sure she knows what he means, he points at himself. "Cato."

"Cato." She hums over his name for a moment. Finally: "Ember."

 _Ember._ Definitely not a Roman name. "Ember," he repeats. It feels strange on his tongue—but also pleasant.

He has no more time though. It seems Seneca Gruanus and the slave seller have come to some kind of agreement, and Cato is shooed away from the podium. He watches as Seneca Gruanus declines the slave seller's offer of ropes and chains, instead helping the two girls out of the cage. The erstwhile military hero quickly escorts them away, but before they're swallowed up by the crowd, Ember glances back at Cato and waves briefly.

" _Vale,_ " Cato mutters to himself as they depart.

* * *

 _Vale means "farewell" in Latin._

 _Silvius roughly means "of the woods"and Lupanus roughly means"wolfish," at least according to my student-level knowledge of Latin._

 _Gruanus means "crane."_

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 **Reviews are love, and I'm eager to hear any more ideas for future scenes!**


	5. Mortal Instruments

**Thanks so much to Ro-Lee, breathing-sunflowers, iiMuffinsaur, and my lovely guest reviewer.**

 _For the guest reviewer who asked for Mortal Instruments. I hope I do the series justice, because it's been a VERY long time since I last read Mortal Instruments._

* * *

 **Mortal Instruments**

Ember's parents have tattoos, winding up and down their arms. Haymitch and Maysilee Abernathy usually keep them hidden beneath long sleeves, but they relax when they're at home, and it's just them and their children. Ember always thought it was because tattoos are usually seen as the marks of troublemakers, and Mom and Dad didn't want to get funny looks in public.

But when Ember turned twelve, her parents pulled her aside and told her the story behind them. "They're runes," Mom explained, holding out her bare arm. "See this one?"

"The mockingjay tattoo?"

"We all have them, where your mother and I came from," Dad said, showing his own. "We get them as a mark of our ancestry from the Mockingjay."

Ember made a face then. "We're descended from a bird?"

Mom and Dad muffled their laughs. "The Mockingjay was an anthropomorph," Mom assured her. "He took the bird as his symbol. Centuries ago, during the Dark Days, the Mockingjay emerged as a leader of the resistance against the Capitol. His origins are shrouded in myth and legend, so we'll probably never know where he really came from. But we do know that he possessed magic, which he accessed by drawing runes on his skin, and he shared his powers with the humans he chose to become his 'children.' It's these children of the Mockingjay from whom we're really descended."

"Why have I never heard of them before?"

"The Capitol and the Mockingjays have been at war for several lifetimes," Dad answered. "The Mockingjays are few in number, so they fight mostly underground. Your mother and I left them years ago because of some differences, but we still support the rebel cause. But if the Capitol gets the slightest hint that we might be affiliated with the Mockingjays, they will come for us. So, like with your older siblings, we only told you about this now, when you're old enough to understand its gravity."

"And to give you a choice," Mom added. "When we told Ashton and Rain, we offered to teach them how we fight and use magic. They agreed. And we told you that they left last year to go study in District 2, but the truth is they went to Thirteen to join the other Mockingjays and advance their training."

"So I can learn to use magic?" Ember asked eagerly.

"If you want to."

She did, desperately.

That was four years ago. Now Ember is sixteen, and her little brother, Cedric, is turning twelve today. Soon, he too will know of their family's heritage. But first, Mom and Dad are planning a small birthday celebration—just their family—and Ember is responsible for keeping her younger siblings out of the way while their parents prepare everything.

It's the time that Ember and her parents agreed upon, so she starts herding her brother and sister back. She hold Summer's little hand while Cedric wanders ahead of them, nose in his book. They've almost reached their house when one of the runes—for awareness—that Ember drew onto her arm begins to burn.

 _Danger._

"Cedric, stop."

Her brother halts and looks back at her curiously.

Ember passes Summer to him. "Stay out here with Summer. I'm going to check inside first."

"What's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. Just...be ready." Her hand drifts to the hilt of her dagger as she slowly eases open the front door.

The house is deathly still. Ember can smell something burning in the kitchen. Her eyes dart around the foyer—nothing looks out of place. Silently, she inches toward the kitchen and tries to peer inside from a protected angle. Nothing and no one moves inside, that she can see. Her grip tightens around her brandished knife as she steps out so she can see clearly into the kitchen.

Her heart stutters as she sees a pool of crimson liquid on the floor. A smeared, bloody trail leads out the open back door, as do several scarlet footprints. The rest of the kitchen is a disaster—broken glass, smashed china, fallen pots—but all Ember can see is what surely must be the blood of at least one of her parents.

In a daze, she blindly takes a step forward, and shards of glass crunch beneath her shoe. All hell breaks loose.

The first mutt misses her, by some miracle. Her reflexes kick in, and Ember doesn't give it a chance to try again. Her dagger plunges straight into the mutt's heart. A second beast soon follows, and she barely dodges in time, slashing its belly as it hurtles past her. The mutt howls in pain, but the wound isn't fatal. It whirls back around, snarling, as Ember lunges for the kitchen cleaver.

A large mass of human barrels through the open back door. A sword glints, and within seconds, the mutt is in pieces on the floor.

Ember quickly looks away from its spilled guts, choosing instead to glare at the new intruder. "Who are you?" she asks the tall blond boy, who looks as if he's barely broken a sweat.

"The guy who just saved your life."

"Saved my life? I had it under control!"

"Did you?" He looks skeptical.

"Okay, maybe not under control, but I would've killed that mutt if you hadn't barged in." Then Ember brandishes her knife and the cleaver in each hand. "Speaking of, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

He turns to look at the puddle of blood on the floor. "I was hoping to save your parents, but it looks like I was too late."

Her heart hiccups. "They're not—?"

"No, they're alive. I think. But now we need to get you and your siblings out of here, before the people who took your parents come back for you guys."

Before Ember can interrogate him any further, Summer screams shrilly from the front porch. She takes off, with the boy on her heels.

* * *

 _If I wrote a full-length fic about Hunger Games/Mortal Instruments (which I wouldn't, sadly, since it's been far too long since I picked up the latter series), I would feel compelled to name the fic along the Mortal Instruments' title theme. City of Mockingjays? City of Hunger? Or would something like District of Bones be better? Ehehe. It's a pointless exercise, I suppose, but a fun one anyway._

 _Reviews are much appreciated, and please send more meeting scene ideas my way!_

 _Coming up: X-Men, Hollywood, and Percy Jackson._


	6. X-Men

**Thanks very much to Ro-Lee, Patting-Patches, and my lovely guest reviewer.**

* * *

 **Superheroes/X-Men**

 _For vampluver19, who asked for heroes meeting villains and possibly superpowers._

* * *

It's a pleasant summer night when Cato comes back to life, clawing his way out of his freshly-dug grave and gasping for air. He hacks up bits of earth from his lungs, unable to think of anything except _I'm not dead, I'm not dead, I'm not dead._

The skin on his throat is almost done knitting itself back together. He shudders as he flashes back to how his throat got mangled in the first place: curved fangs and bloody claws, yellow eyes that promised death. And death was what he got, at least for… Cato looks at his watch. About three hours, give or take.

But how is he still alive? And how could he have even "died" in the first place? Ever since he was little, people just—just haven't been able to touch him. Humans, animals, they just stopped being able to make physical contact with him once he was five or six, unless he concentrated really, _really_ hard and let them. Father's colleagues were fascinated and had been conducting tests on him for as long as he can remember. The current favorite theory is that Cato has some subconscious ability to manipulate the magnetic fields surrounding his body, which deflects living creatures from making contact.

Every creature, it seems, except the mutt that temporarily murdered him.

A light suddenly appears in the surrounding darkness, and he tenses as he whirls around to face it. A stocky blond boy is holding up his hand, which shimmers brightly like a miniature sun. Several others—teenagers, like the blond, like Cato—are next to him, watching him with varying degrees of wariness.

"Who the hell are you?" Cato growls, voice raspy and throat sore from breathing in dirt.

" _You're_ Cato Wolfwood." One girl steps forward, covered from the neck-down in clothing despite the heat. "Your whole family's involved with the Capitol." She spits out the last word like a curse.

The Capitol? Capitol Industries? As in, the research facility where his father and brother works?

...As in the Capitol that just murdered his whole family and tried to kill him with them? Mutts, he knows, are a special pet project of the Capitol's. And he's positive, _positive,_ that as he lay dying three hours ago, he saw a pleased-looking Coriolanus Snow strolling into his family's blood-covered home.

"Not anymore," Cato mutters, "if the mutts they sent were any indication."

The strangers all look at each other in confusion and suspicion, except the girl who spoke. She never turns those pensive blue eyes away from him. Cato stares back at her, curious and intrigued but also bracing himself for fight or flight at a moment's notice. His strength, his speed, his reflexes, they're all beyond what any normal human can achieve.

But he's not a normal human. He's a mutant, and he's sure these teenagers all are as well, if the guy holding a sun in his hand is any indication. As good as Cato is as fighting, he's not sure if he can take on six other mutants at once—whose powers he doesn't know—especially not after he's just stopped being dead.

The girl with the blue eyes is taking off one of her leather gloves. The others stare at her. "What are you doing?" a girl with a long black braid hisses.

"Trust me," Blue Eyes tells her, still watching Cato. Then, addressing him, "Do you mind?" She wiggles her bare hand.

"Mind what?" he asks warily.

"I'm going to take a quick peek inside your head and see why you and the Capitol have grown apart," she says lightly. "A little skin-to-skin contact is all I need."

Cato narrows his eyes. "I do mind, and even if I didn't, your efforts would be futile."

"Right, you're the one who can't be touched, huh? Wanna bet I can't do it?"

There's a challenge in her eyes, and something dark rears inside Cato in response. Before he can think better of it, he holds out his hand.

A faint smile flickers across her face before she steps forward. She reaches out, and her hand comes within a millimeter of touching his before it stops. Her brow furrows as she visibly tries to press her hand down. Nothing, it continues to hover right above his palm.

"Told you," Cato murmurs.

She shoots an annoyed look at him, and for a moment, Cato forgets that they're possibly enemy mutants. They're just a boy and a girl, and he's enjoying that look of frustrated determination on her face. She takes a breath and closes her eyes, frowning in concentration.

Cato waits, but still nothing happens. He's about to say something like 'Better luck next time' when _her hand pushes down and presses his_ and suddenly his memories of his last moments before he "died" are rushing into her head.

And, as an apparent side effect, some of her memories are seeping into his head too.

Her home. A school for mutants, run by a man with clever gray eyes and a woman who looks remarkably like her. A pair of blond fraternal twins, setting up telepathic defenses around their sanctuary. Teenagers, all of them mutants, sitting in class and sparring in a field and eating together and having fun and laughing.

Then, suddenly, overwhelming sensations of warmth and home and fire and _life,_ and Cato realizes that he's no longer seeing her memories but feeling _her._ And when she jerks her hand away, equally stunned by whatever it was she felt from him, he has a name. "That's an interesting way to meet new people, Ember Abernathy."

* * *

 _I'm only familiar with the X-Men movies, but I based Cato's powers on a combination of Wolverine's regeneration/healing factor (which seems to make him invulnerable/immortal) and Magneto's metallokinesis, which I believe is based on an ability to manipulate magnetic fields. He also has enhanced senses, strength, agility, etc. So basically, Cato is an untouchable superhuman. He does have ONE weak spot (which I'll keep quiet about for now)._

 _His superhero name? Achilles, of course._

 _Ember's powers are a combination of telepathy/empathy. The more contact she has with her target, the easier it is for her to open up a telepathic/empathetic link, but it's also harder to control, hence her wearing gloves and long sleeves all the time, because it'd be awkward to suddenly have a mental connection with a random stranger you brushed up against on the street. Her superhero name is Ms. Spock. All the Abernathys have some kind of mental/emotional power, for the record._

 _The boy who looks like he's holding a miniature sun is Peeta. His powers are based on solar energy._

 _I have loads of stuff on a Sweetest Mockery/X-Men crossover I once contemplated writing but ultimately gave up on. Everyone gets a superpower, whooooo~_

 _Please submit more suggestions for scenes!_


	7. Hollywood

**Thanks a bunch to vampluver19 and Sparky She-Demon for their reviews!**

* * *

 **Hollywood**

"Are you serious? They want me to costar with some spoiled, entitled brat who's riding her parents' coattails?" Cato demands.

His agent Alcaeus tries to appease him, scurrying to keep up with Cato's long stride. "I've heard that Ember Abernathy is a quite talented actress. You know the director wouldn't have consented to cast her if she didn't—"

"She's never been in anything except those stupid YouTube videos she and her cousin make. Now that she's eighteen and suddenly all grown up, she thinks she can be a star just like that because her parents are Oscar-winning actors? That's an insult to the rest of us who started from nothing and earned our way up the latter with hard work and talent."

They round the corner, and they're suddenly face to face with a very irritated Ember Abernathy.

 _Oh, shit._

"Miss Abernathy!" Alcaeus is as pale as a ghost. "Please don't misunderstand what you overheard."

"Oh, I understand perfectly what I overheard."

Part of Cato is ashamed for hurting her feelings—but he stands by what he said. And for some reason, the sight of Ember Abernathy's furious face is turning him on and shutting down his filter. "I hope you're not waiting for an apology." Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Alcaeus burying his face in his hands.

Ember plants her hands on her hips. "Even if you were going to give one, it wouldn't be worth listening to," she says crisply. "You're not the first person I've heard saying things like that, you know. And other people have said it to my face."

"Good. Then you're not going to go crying to the director about it and backing out at the last minute, hm?"

"If only you were so lucky. Well, I can see that working together for the next few months is going to be pleasant." Without a farewell, she marches off.

"Why did you talk so rudely to her?" Alcaeus hisses once she's out of earshot. "Do you _want_ her to complain to the director and get you kicked off? Or her parents? The Abernathys have clout in the industry, you know that."

Cato shrugs, still watching her go. An interesting next few months indeed.

* * *

 _Cato Wolfwood (signed with Capitol Entertainment) and Ember Abernathy (signed with District Artists) will be debuting in leading roles in the predicted blockbuster_ Girl on Fire. _Cato recently broke out with his strong supporting role in the Oscar-nominated film_ Dark Days. _Ember, daughter of Academy Award winners (costars of Oscar-winning film_ Birds of Paradise _) Maysilee Donner and Haymitch Abernathy, has a popular YouTube channel, Firefly & Magpie, with her cousin Madge, where they post videos of their cello-piano duets._

 _Feel free to continue sending ideas my way! Next up is most likely Percy Jackson._


	8. Percy Jackson

**Thank you to Ro-Lee and Patting-Patches for reviewing!**

* * *

 **Percy Jackson**

 _For the guest reviewer who asked for Percy Jackson._

* * *

It's difficult having war heroes for parents. And not just any war heroes, but Maysilee "The Chosen One" Donner and Haymitch "The Chosen One's Sidekick and Love Interest" Abernathy. Everyone just expects so damn much from you, and it's really hard to match saving the entire cosmos from the Titans and their Capitol minions.

Not that most of Earth's population is even aware that Ember's parents saved everyone's butt years ago. The Mist keeps regular humans befuddled and unaware of the fact that Greek gods and monsters are real, so anything magical or legendary is always excused away as something more mundane. Oh, a Daughter of Persephone and a Son of Athena stopped Kronos and his demigod son, Coriolanus Snow, from conquering the universe in a battle of epic proportions in the heart of New York City? All the Average Joe remembers of that day is really gods-awful traffic and an ill-timed power outage.

It was easier to handle during Ember's childhood. Her family lived in a small town where the only other demigods were her parents' oldest friends, who rarely brought up the Abernathys' hero status. So back then, Ember could pretend that they were normal.

Well, "normal" being a relative term. Most people wouldn't consider it normal for Mr. Everdeen, a son of Apollo, to be able to sing wild songbirds into obedience and to shoot a target blindfolded. They also wouldn't consider it normal for Mr. Mellark, a son of the much lesser-known Deipneus, God of Bread-Making, to be able to bake cakes that literally tasted like the consumer's childhood. But Ember acknowledges that her family isn't most people.

Everything changed once Ember became old enough to go to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods in New York State. It was where her parents had met and been trained as children. Ember had eagerly looked forward to her first day there ever since her older siblings came back after their first summer there, jabbering excitedly about archery and dueling and Capture the Flag and climbing lava walls.

What she didn't expect was how everyone immediately saw her first and foremost as "Maysilee and Haymitch's kid" and the deluge of questions they pestered her about her parents instead of herself. With every summer, Ember became less and less excited about going to Camp Half-Blood; the only saving grace was the fact that Madge, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale were there as well, so she had someone to talk to who wasn't interested just in her heritage.

It is now Ember's fifth summer, and this year her little brother Cedric is tagging along for the first time as well. They watch their parents' car disappearing into the distance, Ced a little forlorn but also excited about the upcoming summer, while Ember just feels blah.

"Ember?"

Her spirits lift as she turns around to face the approaching camp counselor. "Cinna!"

The Son of Aphrodite grins and waves. After they catch up on what's happened in the past year, Cinna begins, "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Probably. What is it?"

"We have a new second-generation demigods this year, and he's having some trouble adjusting. There's a little resentment that he isn't directly half-blood himself. I was wondering if you'd be willing to talk to him, being second-generation yourself."

"Well, sure. I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to turn any attitudes around."

"Your best is all I ask."

Second-generation demigods became a lot more populous after the war with the Titans. Life expectancy became longer than one's twenties, if they were lucky, so more demigods got together and started families. Technically, their kids are also half-divine, but they themselves aren't the child of a god or goddess. In Ember's opinion, there are pros and cons of being only second-generation. On one hand, her inherited abilities from her godly grandmothers are more diluted. On the other hand, she's able to access powers and boons available to both scions of Athena and Persephone.

Ember meets the particularly troubled demigod just before dinner. As Cinna told her, the boy is sulking on the beach. He looks a little older than her, so she's surprised he's a new camper; usually demigods are in their preteen years when they first arrive at Camp Half-Blood. "Hi there."

His eyes flicker toward her before returning to glare at the water.

"I'm Ember. You must be Cato."

"You don't have to pretend to be friendly with me because that counselor told you to."

She frowns. "Who says I'm pretending? I'm just here to talk to you about what it's like being second-generation."

He barks in laughter. "Oh, is that what he thinks my problem is? I wish that were it."

"Then...what is the problem?"

He kicks a shell near his foot. "You haven't heard already? It's all over camp. Yeah, I'm second-generation. Dad's a son of Ares, Mom's a daughter of Nike."

"Okay. And my parents—"

"Daughter of Persephone and Son of Athena. Everyone knows who your parents are, Ember Abernathy. And everyone knows who mine are." He looks at her. "I'm a Wolfwood."

She stares. "As in…"

"Yup. The Wolfwoods who betrayed the Olympians and faced your parents in the final battle in the war. So don't pretend to be friendly with me, Abernathy. I understand perfectly." He turns his back on her and walks away.

* * *

 _I definitely wanted to make either Haymitch or Maysilee a child of Athena. I picked Haymitch because of the gray eyes. For Maysilee, I ended up choosing Persephone because Queen of the Underworld is pretty badass._

 _And yes, Deipneus was actually a thing._

 _Next up: Sherlock Holmes! Feel free to continue sending prompts and ideas for meetings you'd like to see!_


	9. Sherlock Holmes

**Thank you so much to Ro-Lee, iiMuffinsaur, and my guest reviewer!**

 **Patting-Patches: Unfortunately I'm not familiar with Vampire Diaries or Fast and Furious, BUT I adore Game of Thrones and Pirates of the Caribbean, so there is hope. :)**

* * *

 **Sherlock Holmes**

"I still don't buy that 'consulting detective' is a legitimate profession," Cato gripes as they trudge through a small town that looks like it came straight out of a storybook. The buildings still have a gray tinge from the defunct coal mines that used to be the breadbasket of the region, but the air smells clean and fresh.

"Seriously, Cato? How can you _not_ have heard of Haymitch Abernathy before now?" Marvel retorts as he consults the address scrawled on a slip of paper in his hand. " _The Hound of District 5? The Arena of Fear? The Adventure of the Six Mockingjays?_ You've never read any of those stories?"

"You've met my father. Huge fan of censorship," Cato deadpans. "And who the hell came up with those titles? They're shit."

Marvel clucks his tongue. "Don't let Maysilee Donner hear you say that."

"Wait, Donner? The military strategist? She's here too?"

"You're kidding me." Marvel face-palms. "You've heard of Abernathy's assistant but not Abernathy himself?"

"One of Panem's best military minds in living memory is of far more interest than some 'consulting detective.'"

Marvel groans. "Fine, fine. Allow me to explain who is Haymitch Abernathy." And he launches into a huge fanboy spiel. "Abernathy grew up on the poor side of town here in Twelve, but he started making a name for himself as a teenager when he began to solve all sorts of cases, current and cold, that no one else could fathom. He calls his method the science of deduction—that requires a whole lecture of its own—but no one's been able to use it as well as he has. Anyway, business took off when he met Maysilee Donner and they put their skill sets together. But when you're thwarting all sorts of criminal activities, you make a lot of enemies. It got to the point that everyone thought Abernathy was killed during a face-off with this psycho named Alasdar Greenburn—"

"Donner's stalker?" Cato interrupts.

"Yeah. That's the one. But it turns out Abernathy faked his death to make sure he took down all of Greenburn's sick games and networks and henchmen. Once that was done, Abernathy rejoined the world of the living, he and Donner got married, and they retired back here to District 12."

Cato blinks. "That sounds...idyllic. And what was up with those titles you were rattling off?"

"Donner wrote about their various cases, and those were what she called some of her recountings. Her royalties from her writing and Abernathy's payments from his detective work have allowed them to live very comfortably, so I've heard."

"It sounds like you're making a lot of this shit up, Marvel."

"Am not, and I'm going to prove it. Look, we're here." They stroll up to a pleasant-looking house, cozy and modest but with ample space. Cato can see the edges of a vegetable garden and a small orchard behind the dwelling, and someone emerges from the grove just before the two of them approach the front door.

The girl, who's hefting a large basket of fruit, is covered in dirt and leaves. But when she turns her curious blue eyes in Cato's direction, he feels his stomach flip-flopping. "Can I help you?" she inquires, those blue eyes flickering between him and Marvel.

"Good afternoon!" Marvel answers cheerfully. "We're looking for Haymitch Abernathy."

Her expression immediately closes off. "He's retired," she says crisply. "If you're having problems, you'll need to ask the authorities." She starts to turn away.

Cato still isn't sure how much he believes in this Haymitch Abernathy. Obviously the guy is real, and Cato is aware that he's been living under a rock for a good part of his life—thanks, Father—but Marvel is making Abernathy sound like some kind of real-world superhero. Nevertheless, Cato wouldn't have made the trip all the way out here, to the middle of nowhere, if he weren't so terribly desperate, enough to blindly follow Marvel to District 12. Cato takes a step toward the girl. "Coriolanus Snow."

She freezes, then spins around. "What did you say?" she asks sharply.

"Coriolanus Snow," Cato repeats. "People are in danger because of him. And we need all the help we can get. I'm told Haymitch Abernathy is our best shot at taking Snow down."

The girl brushes her hair out of her face, careless of the streak of mud she leaves on her cheek. Her blue eyes are darker now as she gazes at him more seriously. Finally, she nods. "You should follow me. My dad's inside." She leads the way. "I'm Ember Abernathy, by the way."

* * *

 _I may have mentioned it in an AN or two on the earlier chapters of Sweetest Mockery, but I imagine Haymitch to look like a combination of Robert Downey, Jr., and Hugh Jackman. The former has played Sherlock Holmes in the Guy Ritchie films, and I guess the image just stuck._

 _Next up: a little Anastasia-inspired scene!_


End file.
